The latest round of US sanctions has increased the cost of transporting Russian ESPO oil to China by almost 5 times.
Points of attention
- The cost of transporting Russian ESPO oil to China has risen almost 5 times due to the latest US sanctions.
- Putin is reportedly worried about the impact of the war against Ukraine on the Russian economy and is considering ending the conflict through negotiations.
- US sanctions have forced Russian oil tankers to change their routes, affecting the trade in Russian oil to China.
- Kremlin elites are seeking to end the war against Ukraine through talks, noting that Putin believes the main goals of the conflict have been achieved.
- Despite Trump's threats of powerful sanctions, the Kremlin seems unconcerned, citing minimal impact on the Russian economy and decreased Russian imports to the US.
What is known about the rising cost of Russian oil supplies?
It is noted that this week the cost of transporting Russian oil from the largest export port in the Far East, Kozmino, to China reached $7 million.
Last week, the cost was $5.5 million, and before the imposition of US sanctions, it was $1.5 million.
Chinese ports have become very cautious about handling tankers that have been hit by US sanctions, which has undermined the ESPO trade in Russian oil, as most of the ships plying this route have been hit by sanctions.
This forced other tankers, which had previously been operating in Russian ports in the west of the country, to head east and begin transporting oil to China.
According to Kpler, Legend was one of the last Russian tankers to begin transporting oil to China.
This vessel was first loaded on January 20 at the port of Kozmino and is scheduled to transport oil to the city of Huizhou in southern China.
What is known about Putin's concern about the state of the Russian economy amid the continuing war against Ukraine?
According to Reuters, Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin is increasingly worried about the problems in the aggressor country's economy.
This, as noted, is happening against the backdrop of demands from new US President Donald Trump to stop the criminal war unleashed by the Kremlin and threats of a new round of powerful sanctions in case of refusal.
The publication's interlocutors familiar with the Kremlin's position note that some of the Russian power elites seek to end the war against Ukraine through negotiations.
At the same time, the interlocutors claim that, in the opinion of the Kremlin dictator, the main goals of the war against Ukraine have already been achieved.
According to the source, Putin is also aware of the pressure the war is putting on the economy, citing "really big problems" such as the impact of high interest rates on non-military businesses and industry.
Meanwhile, as journalists from the Associated Press note , Trump's threats do not really scare the Kremlin, since the US does not have a really significant sanctioning impact on the Russian economy, and Russian imports to the US have decreased to $2.8 billion.
In addition, Russia is already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world.
